Freud has a lot of interesting ideas that truly require one to sit back and study his literature in an effort to fit into his shoes and understand the complexities that originated from the deepest depths of his psyche. He was also a man that has shown through many different works that he felt constrained by the limitations of rules and regulations society brought, which is why I believe he felt so strongly about government being repressive by nature. From my understanding of psychological perspectives as a student studying the material, I believe that Freud was doing what we now call psychological projection. This term is used to describe when someone is using their internalized feelings and attempting to cope with them by subjecting others to the same feelings, whether deserved and/or warranted or not. To say that governments as a whole are repressive is not only a huge stretch, but also too monumental of a generalization for anyone to even begin to take seriously. The purpose of a government is to set aside ground rules for its citizens, and create leaders that can assist when people have issues amongst themselves that seemingly can’t be solved on their own. The government is also responsible for ensuring that wealth is distributed in a way that keeps the country afloat, and ensuring that society as a whole is maintained
If the question had been, are governments ever repressive, then my answer would be absolutely. Time and time again, historical references have displayed an uncanny repeat of repressiveness, even when it comes to different governmental establishments in different areas. Why? Because repressiveness is derived from instances in which one or many individuals hunger for more power, and decide they want to either increase their growing power and keep it to themselves. The love for power amongst humans is what keeps repression alive and well, especially in instances where an individual has no one else to answer too. Whether that be because of fear for their life, or their livelihood, or even the means to stay alive is irrelevant, as long as there’s something that this individual(s) can hold over the general public, they will succeed. But I don’t believe that governments by nature are repressive, rather they are meant to build structure, and provide people with a base of security and guaranteed well being. It is the individuals who run the government that dictate it’s repressiveness, which then asks the more complex question.
Is the nature of humans repressive? If so, is this innate, or learned behavior?
